Mee Siam

I really like this tangy spicy Nonya rice vermicelli dish. Is a blend between Malay flavors like belachan (shrimp paste) and Chinese tau cheong (salted bean paste). This version is the dry one and I understand that in Singapore there is a version that comes with gravy but I have yet to taste that before.

Ingredients :

2 pieces of vermicelli (soak until soft)
a handful of beansprouts
1 tbsp of tau cheong (salted bean paste)
2 pieces of fried bean curd (cut small)
1/2 pound of shrimp
1/2 tsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
some lemon/lime wedges - for garnish
2 hard boiled egg - for garnish

Blended ingredients :

5 dried chilli - soaked in hot water
2 red chilli
3 tbsp of dried shrimp - soak in hot water
1 lemon grass - white part only
2 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
2 tsp of belachan powder

1) Blend all the ingredients with a bit of water and set aside.
2) Heat up the wok with some oil and stir fry the blended paste with tau cheong until fragrant.
3) Add in shrimps and bean curd and stir fry until shrimps changes color. Add in sugar and sesoning.
4) Toss in rice vermicelli and continue to stir-fry. Add in a bit of water to help with the stir-frying.
5) Lastly add in the bean sprouts and toss it lightly into the vermicelli.
6) Garnish with hard boiled egg and lemon wedges.